Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

On the day of the Yule Ball, most students woke early, especially the girls who began getting ready hours before the event even started. But not Quincy.

"Shouldn't we get out of bed?" I asked, lying on my back while she was snuggled up to me, her head resting on my chest while I gently stroked her long hair.

"It's Christmas... we can laze a little, don't we? I am not planning on going overboard anyway, so I will simply dress up and fix my hair, and there it is!"

"Heh, I heard some girls doing makeup for hours to look gorgeous... and here you are, pretty without doing anything!" Although I didn't see her face, I could tell she was blushing as she softly rubbed against me, trying to hide.

"I don't really have much makeup anyway... I never learned how to put it on."

"I assumed your grandmother would have done so, trying to sell you..."

"It was done by magic. I never bothered to learn the spell myself."

"Convenient." I chuckled, looking towards the window, watching the heavy snowfall while we were lying on our bed. The crackling fire in the fireplace filled the room with warmth and was my most peaceful morning of all time. Will we have mornings like this in the future?

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hm?" I turned away from the window, looking down into her eyes.

"You looked lost for a moment."

"Nothing. I was simply enjoying the moment! Sometimes, I wish things like this would last forever, but no magic could guarantee that."

"Not until you have a Time-Turner!"

"A what?"

"A Time-Turner!" She smiled while explaining, "It was a very dangerous artifact, capable of allowing someone to travel back in time! In the end, they were all destroyed, and all knowledge of them quickly followed suit. Their usage and creation were banned way before HIS time."

"Huh... how do you know about it? I never heard about them." I murmured, imagining using it to return and explore the past.

"I had an adventure book back home that had one in the story! I came across it when we were researching in the first year, and it turns out it was a real thing once! I just didn't mention it as it was irrelevant."

"Oh... I see. Heh, if even HIM and Dumbledore can agree on something too dangerous to try and recreate or use, then that is something else!"

"Um, I agree!" She moaned and yawned before sitting up, stretching, "I feel hungry; let's go eat something!"

"That, my dear, is an excellent idea!" I grinned, giving her a quick kiss before we headed to the Great Hall, hand in hand.

After breakfast, we spent the whole day relaxing, ignoring the multiple panic-stricken students rushing around like headless chickens. When it was time, I put on my formal attire, and I couldn't help but get a bit red in the face when I saw Quincy. She was wearing a crimson dress with faint, golden trims at its edges, outlining her blooming figure. It left her shoulders bare while her hands were covered with a silk glove, going right up to her elbows. I didn't know where to glance as she looked stunning, her lengthy hair now slightly more wavy than usual, being held up by a red butterfly pin.

"How is it?" She asked, her face turning redder and redder by the moment while I leaned in, pecking her lips.

"Perfect... More than perfect... you really don't need any makeup!"

"I did try to put on some..." She murmured, and I noticed that. Especially around her eyes and eyelashes and on her lips, which were much more glossy than usual.

"And it made you even prettier. You did practice, huh?" I joked, which she only giggled at before holding onto my arm. "Let's go, we don't want to be late!"

As champions, we had a duty, so we left the Common Room before the start of the ball, arriving at the designated classroom where another pair was already present.

"Parfait. J'espérais que tu arriverais avant les autres.¹Perfect. I hoped you would come before others."

"English, please." Quincy and I said simultaneously, looking at the two girls inside. To our surprise, Fleur wore a man's attire while Celine wore a blue, frilly dress with a long skirt.

"Are you a crossdresser? Huh." Quincy jabbed at them but Fleur remained unpetrubed.

"It necessary. One can't appear without a partner."

"I wonder why you haven't got any, forced to play the role of a man..." I murmured, and she simply sneered at me, shocking me with her following words.

"Says the murderer. The killer of our classmates! Absurde!²Preposterous"

"I don't know what you mean." I lied straight into her face, but she wasn't letting it go.

"Oh, je ne te crois pas du tout! Tu es un serpent dangereux, et ta petite amie est tout autant une vipère que toi!³Oh, I don't believe you, not at all! You are a dangerous viper and your girlfriend is just as much of a snake as you!"

"English." We repeated again, but she wasn't going to heed it, scoffing angrily at us.

"I remember night you killed two of my classmates. You modified memories, but you are weak! Truth comes to light, always! You will die, Conrad Anguine. You evil man!"

At that, Quincy's countenance changed in a snap of a finger, stepping forward, standing before me, which surprised me just as much as it did the two Beauxbatons students.

"Try it, wench! Let's see if you can do that, or it will be you who ends up dying!"

"You are being... rotten. Tainted... lavé de cerveau⁴brainwashed by this evil person! If you defend him, you die same way!"

"They are not evil!" Arrived another voice, belonging to a 5th-year Slytherin student I knew as she was part of the group that helped me find Quincy. She was now wearing a bright green and silver dress, accompanying Victor Krum, who looked like some kind of military officer.

It seemed everyone was present, even Martyn, who was the only nervous man in our group, followed by a female student from Hufflepuff who I only saw once, maybe in a joint herbology class.

"Proof always important." Victor interjected, trying to play the role of the mediator, but Fleur clearly wasn't having it. I could read it from her eyes, and I also caught a glimpse of something else. She looked at Victor as if she was asking why he was trying to take my side. "When people threaten the family, actions can turn drastic. You must understand."

This was interesting... I saw surprise in Fleur's eyes as she wasn't expecting it from Victor. Did she believe he wouldn't try to smooth it out or take my side in this argument? Do they... know each other? Better than I assumed? What was going on?

I did not have much time to dwell on it as the door to the room opened again, and multiple teachers, including the three headmasters, walked in. Nicholas Flamel only looked at me once as if nothing had happened between us, stopping next to Severus Snape.

"By now, all of the champions have successfully finished the first task." Our Headmaster began speaking, addressing us officially. "Good... You didn't know it, but you made the second task easier for yourself, as you will have over a month to prepare!"

"For the next part, happening in February," Flamel took over, making Karkaroff fume as he was about to speak, yet he ignored him completely. "you will have to steal this vial."

What he produced from the pocket of his white robe was a small glass in the shape of a teardrop, no bigger than a plum seed. Inside it, a blood-red liquid was sloshing around, so brilliant in color that it looked like it was glowing.

"This is diluted essence from my Philosopher's Stone, capable of granting 60 years of life to anyone consuming it." He announced, making us stiffen. I couldn't help but squeeze Quincy's hand, looking at the precious 'potion' I had only heard about but had never seen before. "You will need it for the last trial."

"There is... only one?" Quincy asked, finally looking away from it, glancing at the one holding it between his fingers.

"Only one." Flamel nodded with a smile that was anything but friendly. "And it is not for consumption, or nobody would have the chance to complete the third trial." Was that a warning? Sounded like one.

"Getting it won't be easy." Karkaroff finally cut in, not letting Flamel hog the limelight any further. "The vial is hidden in the nest of a Cerberus." A what now? I raised an eyebrow, and now it was Quincy who squeezed my arm, telling me not to interrupt them. "You will have to get through the beast to get it. The first Champion to do so will have a head start in the last trial!"

"With only one vial..." Victor murmured, and it was Snape who finished their speech.

"Until the last trial's beginning, the vial can change hands. As for how that happens, it is up to you as Champions. You will know about the last trial in due time, but you must possess the only key to complete it. The person going into the finals holding it in his or her hand will have the greatest chance of becoming the True Champion. What you all have now can be used to make the second task easier. As to how? That is up to you to figure out!"

"Now," Flamel chuckled, putting it away, "It is time to celebrate! The ball is ready, and the first dance is what everyone is waiting for!"

We didn't really have any time to process what had just happened, and Quincy and I were thrust to be the first to enter the redecorated Great Hall where the Yule Ball was happening. My mind was still reeling as I automatically held her hand, waltzing to the tune of the music. She was in the same state, and our bodies moved by themselves while our minds were preoccupied with something else.

Maybe this was what we needed, as without worrying or thinking too hard, we performed a perfect showcase of how it should be done. I never knew that those lessons I took while little would be helpful as I thought it was just some kind of etiquette training my Father wanted me to go through. So as not to bring shame to our family in the future.

When the song ended, and we faced the others, I finally snapped back to reality, listening to a short speech from Severus before everyone was allowed to join the dancing and have a great time. With a look, I pulled Quincy on, starting to dance again, deciding that it was best to talk about it while moving around, not letting others eavesdrop easily.

"What is a Cerberus? Is it really a three-headed dog?"

"Yeah. They are not too common around here, mostly living in Greece or Cyprus. But now I get it!"

"I don't." I replied with a smile, one hand holding hers while my other was resting on her waist.

"One head has a perfect sight, one has a perfect hearing, while the third has a perfect smell. How's that?"

"Now I do get it. We will need the perfect potion to trick all of its heads, or it will sniff us out much more easily!"

"Um. I am not worried about getting the vial; what I am troubled about is what comes afterward!"

"You see, I am not!" Now, it was my time to grin at her as she looked into my eyes, trying to make a guess. "We know of a room that only appears when you know how to find it, hm?"

"Oh... You are bad!" She chuckled, sticking her pink tongue out at me playfully.

"Mhm... Maybe. But, aren't girls into bad boys?" I asked jokingly, and her giggles made my heart flutter.

"No, not particularly. But I am thinking about making an exception here~! But under only one condition!"

"I am all ears~!"

"Dance with me until we can't stand!"

"Mhm." I nodded, moving around in the dancefloor with her, never taking my eyes off of hers. "Exactly what I was thinking about!"